1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method (and system) of blocking transmission of screen information. More specifically, the present invention blocks transmission of screen information with via simply an alert message outputted through a status bar, without the need of handling the mobile communication terminal such as inputting a command, using a menu in an activated window, or touching an icon.
2. Related Art
With the advancement in the mobile communication technologies, communication methods limited to voice communication or short message services (SMS) have evolved into Internet access accomplished through a mobile communication networks based on a communication protocol such as WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) or the like. As high functionality mobile communication terminals including input/output devices such as a high resolution touch screen and the like, as well as large-capacity control operating units and memories, are now being distributed together with rapid increases in data processing rate through the mobile communication network, Internet access based on TCP/IP (Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) has begun being enabled through a wireless LAN (Local Area Network).
Referring to FIG. 2, since the high functionality mobile communication terminal, which is generally referred to as a smart phone, employs a high resolution touch screen and a control operating unit related thereto, the high functionality mobile communication terminal 10 implements a graphic user interface (GUI) comparable to those of general desktop computers 41, as well as to a conventional keypad type terminal handling environment. However, unlike previous environments in which mobile communication services are limited to transmitting and receiving voice communications and SMS texts, patterns of using the mobile communication terminal 10 has become more complex since they have begun to i.) connect to the Internet through a wireless network 20 including a mobile communication network 21 and a wireless local area network (LAN) 22, ii.) transmit and receive large-scaled data and application programs, and iii.) execute various application programs using a large-capacity control operating unit and memories. Accordingly, most typical users unfamiliar with the new communication environments have difficulties using high functionality mobile communication terminals 10 and suffer from malfunctions and data loss brought on by handling mistakes and excessive communication fees.
Therefore, communication companies attracting users of the high functionality mobile communication terminals 10 as subscribers, mobile communication terminal 10 manufacturers, wireless network 20 provides, or the like guide users who are often inexperienced in using the high functionality mobile communication terminals 10 to connect to the Internet or transmit and receive data, and remotely control the mobile communication terminals 10 to deal with operation errors and failures of the mobile communication terminals 10 from a remote site. This process is conducted by remotely controlling the mobile communication terminals 10 provided the user consents.
In these instances, the mobile communication terminals 10 are remotely controlled through a wireless network 20 such as a mobile communication network 21 or a wireless LAN 22. The remote control is generally performed at the very moment when a consulting representative of the communication companies, the mobile communication terminal 10 manufacturers, or the information providers makes a voice communication/verification with a user of the mobile communication terminal 10. This is based upon the premise that a remote control program is installed in the corresponding mobile communication terminal 10 and the control subject computer 41 in order to control communications between a corresponding mobile communication terminal 10 and a control subject computer, i.e., the computer 41 of the consulting representative. This allows for control input and output of the mobile communication terminal 10 at a remote site. As shown in FIG. 1, once the remote control program is executed, the screen of the mobile communication terminal 10 is displayed on the screen of the control subject computer 41.
If the remote control programs of the mobile communication terminal 10 and the control subject computer 41 at a remote site are executed and a communication session is established between the mobile communication terminal 10 and the computer 41, a screen correlating to the screen of the mobile communication terminal 10 is displayed on the control subject computer 41 as shown in FIG. 1, and commands inputted by the consulting representative, i.e., a user of the control subject computer 41, are transmitted to the remote control program of the mobile communication terminal 10 through the communication session and inputted into the mobile communication terminal 10 by the remote control program. Therefore, the representative can directly control and view the control target mobile communication terminal 10 to more effectively fix errors or failures in the mobile communication terminal.
As described above, a representative remotely controls the mobile communication terminal 10 of a user unfamiliar with the communication environment based on the high functionality mobile communication terminal 10, and thus, providing the user with a convenient way to fix issues that arise on their terminal. However, there are serious issues related to privacy of personal information on mobile communication terminal 10 since the screen of the mobile communication terminal 10 is displayed on the screen of the control subject computer 41, thus, any information that is on the screen when the representative connects can be seen by the representative.
Often times, errors occur while the user is trying to connect or log on to often information sensitive websites For example, log-in information or authentication information needed to connect to a specific site on the Internet may be required in the course performing these remote control sessions, such as online banking websites, credit card account websites, etc. In particular, a variety of services using the high functionality mobile communication terminals 10 are provided even in the finance, administration and health sectors where serious personal information exposure is a concern. Therefore, there is a serious concern that personal information could be leaked if a remote access session is permitted on a particular mobile communication terminal.
In the remote control environment between the mobile communication terminal 10 and the computer 41, personal information such as a password may need to be inputted by the user to allow the representative to access certain functionalities of the mobile communication terminal 10. In this case, the user of the mobile communication terminal 10 directly inputs personal information (e.g., a password), and the input type of the personal information input window on the screen of the mobile communication terminal 10 is set to a password type so that substitute letters such as asterisks or the like may be displayed as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the representative cannot directly see the inputted personal information.
If the input type is set to, e.g., a password type and thus substitute letters are outputted, it is effective to hide input values which are inputted through a keyboard or a key pad. However, in the case of mobile communication terminals 10 since the keyboard or keypad is displayed on the screen the input itself is displayed to the representative or remote user. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, asterisks are displayed instead of real input values in the password input window of the screen. However, when a virtual keyboard implemented at the lower portion of the touch screen is used to input the password, the color, brightness, or shape of a touched key is temporarily changed when a user presses a particular key thus indicating which keys have been pressed by the user at the mobile communication terminal 10. Thus, allowing the remote user/representative to see sequence of keys that were selected by the mobile communication terminal user.
One solution to this problem is to block transmission of screen information on the mobile communication terminal 10 by inputting a specific command by the user, or by installing a separate application which performs the same function as inputting a specific command in the mobile communication terminal 10, implementing an icon for performing the application in the activated window 12 of the screen, and touching the icon by the user. However, in the method described above, the user himself or herself performs complex handling procedures to block transmission of screen information, and thus departs from the main object of the remote control service provided to the users unfamiliar with using a mobile communication terminal 10. Furthermore, this solution may cause mishandlings and errors such as software conflicts on certain mobile communication terminals.
In addition, in a typical environment in which the mobile communication terminal 10 is handled, the entire application being executed is not displayed on the screen, but only one application handled by the user is displayed on the screen. Therefore, in a method of separately installing an application for blocking transmission of screen information, the remote control program performing a remote control disappears from the screen as soon as the application is executed, and thus the user should handle the mobile communication terminal 10 to display the remote control program again on the screen after the application is executed.
Particularly, the object of a remote control service provided through computer 41 communications is not only for a simple one-time control proxy service, but also is for providing a learning service so that a user who is unfamiliar with using an information device may correctly perform the same handling procedures in the future. Therefore, it is preferable to provide all the same procedures and screen output forms used in the remote control when the user independently performs similar controls in the future, and thus inducing a general user to handle the separate application for blocking transmission of screen information may cause confusion.